Devan often referred to his humble heritage

He informed and moulded the youth, and spent more than 70 years serving his community, writes

EDUCATIONIST, cultural and religious activist, politician, social worker – there were many facets to Palanisamy Iyanna Devan.

As an educator he served for 44 years with distinction: teacher at Chatsworth Government-aided Primary School; vice-principal of Seaview, Chatsworth and Cavendish Primary, and Clairwood Secondary schools; acting principal of Bayview and Bharathy Primary; principal of Junagarth Primary and Shallcross Secondary schools. He became superintendent of Education, a post he held until his retirement.

Devan attended a semester at the University of Colorado, Boulder,

US; and researched primary and secondary education in England on a British Council grant.

In addition to a life filled with informing and moulding the youth, he dedicated more than 70 years to serving his community. His was a punishing but rewarding schedule. As a young teacher he did voluntary social work among the rural farming communities of Cavendish and Welbedacht. He was chairman of the Cavendish Indian Investigation Committee of the Pinetown Child Welfare Society; and secretary of the Chatsworth Child Welfare Society.

A founder member of the Chatsworth Vernacular Institute – which administers the former Bayview Government-aided

Primary School (now Sathya Sai School) – he went on to serve the institute as an official for more than 70 years, finally becoming chairman and life trustee.

For nine years, he was organising secretary of the Ramakrishna

Centre of SA; and chairman of the Ramakrishna Youth League.

A founder of the Vivekananda Mission of South Africa; he was a delegate to the 25th anniversary of the Vivekananda Kendra at the Vivekananda Memorial

Rock at Kanyakumari, India, in

1995; delegate at the World Yoga Conference in Bangalore, India, in 1996; and attended the Navarathri celebrations at the Ramakrishna Mission in Calcutta in 2004.

With a passion for Indian culture and languages, he gravitated towards the Natal Indian Cultural Organisation, and the Institute of Indian Languages of South Africa –